Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue · Chemical burns and corrosions, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Nutrien Ag Solutions, Inc., 1051 Midland, GALVA, ILLINOIS 61434
on — Chemical burns and corrosions, unspecified, affecting the face, unspecified.
Final narrative
On January 2, 2019, at 11:30 a.m., an employee was transferring anhydrous ammonia from bullet tanks to two 1,000-gallon nurse wagons when the cross-over line connecting the nurse wagons ruptured, exposing the employee to anhydrous ammonia. He suffered chemical burns to the right side of his face and his respiratory system, requiring hospitalization.
An employee climbed an aluminum extension ladder inside a grain bin to help remove a stirring machine. As the farmer began to lower the stirring machine from the top, one of the ropes broke, causing the stirring machine to strike the ladder and knock it out from under the employee. The employee fell to the base of the grain bin and sustained fractures requiring hospitalization.
An employee was walking around the bagger machine, looking to see if it was operating correctly following maintenance. His coveralls got caught on the rollers, pulling his arm into the machine. The lower portion of his arm was fractured.
An employee was working on a hydraulic motor on a fertilizer truck. Their leather glove got caught in the rotating shaft on the motor. The employee's right hand was pulled into the shaft and a fingertip was amputated.
An employee was moving palletized wheat seed out of a truck onto a lift gate. He fell out of the truck and suffered a broken left humerus. He was hospitalized.
On November 27, 2023, an employee was emptying a 2-inch product line that transports sodium hydroxide liquid from a rail car to a 275-gallon tote tank. The nozzle came out of the tote and sprayed sodium hydroxide onto the employee's face. The employee was hospitalized with chemical burns to their face, mouth, and neck.
An employee was working with sulfuric acid as part of the production process. While transferring the chemical from a large container to a smaller container, it splashed on his body and hand, resulting in a chemical burn.
An employee knelt in wet concrete while performing work as a concrete finisher and sustained a chemical burn to the right shin. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was using a 5-gallon bucket to unload acid product from a tank. Residual product leaked into the containment area, causing the employee to sustain first- and second-degree burns to the chest, as well as third-degree burns to the arms.
An employee was transferring an alkaline cleaning chemical from a bulk container into 1-gallon containers. The employee lifted a gallon container by its label tag. The tag broke causing the container to fall approximately 14-18 inches. The container struck the ground and the contents splashed onto the employee causing chemical burns to their eyes.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 424690)
An employee was servicing a bypass feeder system. The system released hot water onto the employee, resulting in first- and second-degree burns to his face, chest, right arm, and both hands.
An employee was cleaning a formic acid hose with water when formic acid splashed his right shoulder, both arms, and his face under his face shield. He was hospitalized.
A driver had just climbed out of a truck. He stepped back to close the door and his foot went into a low spot on the ground. He fell backward onto an incline, rolled, and suffered a compound fracture to the wrist. He was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was walking between two tanks when he stepped into a sump pit that was missing its metal grate. His leg was submerged in sulfuric acid, and he suffered chemical burns to the lower part of his right foot. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was delivering pool chemicals from a tanker truck when the pipe connection broke. The employee sustained chemical burns from the sodium hypochlorite.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.